Allen Funt was the man behind ABC’s hysterical reality-show, Candid Camera. He was known for his use of hidden cameras and microphones that captured candid reactions of the public to his strategic pranks that would range from talking mailboxes to someone stealing a baby.
On this day, April 22nd, in 1993, Allen Funt, the creator of the legendary phrase “Smile your on candid camera,” suffers from a stroke in his house in Pebblebeach, Ca. This multidimensional man, wrote, produced and directed the iconic show Candid Camera.
He recognized the healing affect of laughter, and before his death on September 9, 1999, Funt created a new half-hour series of Candid Camera for NBC and CBS that ran weekly for five years. He left his mark as a worldwide entertainer and will forever be remembered for making people smile.